I don’t see king mackerel often, but it showed up at one of the local groceries a day or so ago, so I sprung for it. The price was right, and it was wild caught sourced. (You will also find it sold as Kingfish.)
Mackerel also has a good oil content. Oily temperate zone fish have a good and healthy fatty profile. Cooking it with asparagus, one of my favorite veggies, was a no-brainer!
Definitely yummers
King mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla) is also known as kingfish. It is found in the western Atlantic. The skin is a real cool-looking silverish, and is not scaly. This specimen was sliced into steaks, about 3/4 inch thick. I cooked it with skin on, and discarded it while eating.
Prep Time: 5 minutes.
Cook time: 15 + 5 + 15 minutes = 35 minutes total.
Rest time: none.
Serves 1. Multiply all ingredients for more.
King Mackerel with Asparagus, Leeks and Pomegranate Reduction
- Roughly 5-6 ounces king mackerel steak, 3/4 inches thick. (Feel free to experiment with other fish.)
- 4 ounces 100% pure pomegranate juice (no added sugar). My local brand is Pom Wonderful.
- About 15 stalks thin asparagus, bottoms snapped off. (Thin asparagus because you’ll want the asparagus to be done at the same time as the fish. Even so, the asparagus will be au dente. If you wish it less au dente, blanch it first.)
- About 4 inches of thinly sliced leek, the white part. The leek I used was very thick; if a thinner leek use more of its stalk.
- About a tablespoon of avocado (or other cooking) oil.
- Ground pepper and ground garlic to taste.
Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
Arrange the fish and the asparagus in a baking pan. I put the fish in the center, with the asparagus off to either side.
Pomegranate reduction: In a small skillet or small sauce pan, bring the juice to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. This will take about 15 minutes of cooking time, but watch to make sure the reduction doesn’t boil completely off!
Drizzle the reduction over the fish and over the asparagus. You won’t get complete coverage.
Leeks: Wipe out the skillet, return to heat, and add a heaping tablespoon of cooking oil. Allow the skillet to get to temperature (the setting used for the simmering of the reduction should work just fine).
Add the leeks and saute for five minutes, stirring often. Some slices may break up, others won’t.
Using a spatula, layer the leeks over the fish and the asparagus.
Baking the dish: Add ground pepper and garlic powder. Put in oven and bake for about 15 or so minutes. (Adjust baking time depending on the thickness of the mackerel you have.).
Remove from oven and plate, drizzling pomegranate-laden juices over the dish. Serve. Enjoy!
Ready for the oven…
Leftovers should be fine reheated in a day or three… I didn’t get to check this, however. (It was gone…)
This blog post shared at the Real Food Fridays Link Party. Real Food Fridays is closing down their link party as of the end of February (today’s edit). But go browse them! Lotsa great recipes with REAL food!
Sea Vegetable
Of Goats and Greens 
yum!
Thank you for sharing all your wonderful recipes and posts on Real Food Fridays. You have helped make Real Food Fridays a success . I hope to see you around the internet and continue to read your information. Pinned ! Be Be healthy and happy. Remember to always eat real food.
Thank you very much, and keep to that real food, too